We all begin today’s show by acknowledging life’s little joys. Steve welcomes a new hair stylist into his life. Steve has a fresh haircut from a woman named Dixie. Dag is in Woodstock for a tour stopover. He and the LRP band begin a two-night run at the Metro. Will Brendan be making the short walk over to witness the music in person? What secrets does the Whippoorwill hold? We hope this podcast brings you joy, even just a little.

Janet reports on the condo board meeting, in which brick driveways were considered. A morning zoo host gives us a thought shower. Large chunks of hail peppered the western suburbs. Steve visited the fan store and learned why he should stand directly under a ceiling fan as the seasons change. Jim Oberweis cruised by Steve on a red motor scooter. He greeted another guy, but not Steve. Rosie does not want to meet Ira!

Steve took delivery on a box of t-shirts in size (L), and he’s happy to report they fit him well. He’s fearful that a potential new downstairs neighbor could be a fervent cigar smoker. Brendan finds solace in his music chair, where he regularly gives new artists a chance, one complete album at a time. Dag had a sold out show in Pittsburgh, a town he seems to have fallen for. Will Steve’s new elevator door magnets be the correct ones?

Tom Thayer invented a new Italian Beef taco over the weekend. Steve misheard a waitress’s Irish accent. Turn out, she’s just a plain old American. A transmission failure left Dag’s band stranded on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. Luckily, two generous Carnegie Mellon students shared their fancy homemade sandwiches with Bobcat Goldthwait, his wife and the rest of the band.The sandwiches contained prosciutto, but no melon.

It’s raining in the Sunshine State! Apparently the bugs will move back outdoors. Steve declares that there should not be two separate dinner conversations at the restaurant. Janet and Rosie encountered a Florida rat and an egret with an appetite for lizards. A tourist in Las Vegas took a flamingo from the hotel’s habitat. D.J. Moore has been traded to Buffalo. Steve is devastated, Janet indifferent and Brendan is just mean.

Patrick and Violet are visiting the condo and guesting on the podcast. Violet got to meet Joakim Noah at a video shoot in Miami. Pat was welcomed back to a Northwestern University basketball as an alumni mascot. A fellow alumnus mascot showed decidedly more pep than Pat could muster at halftime. Pat recalls dealing with an urgency in the Kinnick Stadium visitor’s locker room.

Steve walked on the beach while Janet hung out with her sister and brother-in-law. Marie’s birthday was is today, but Steve thought it was Larry’s. Dag had a great show in D.C. and will be heading off to Philadelphia to continue the tour. Steve finds cyclists to be rude in the areas surrounding his Florida home. Joe informs us about Strava, the training app for cyclists. Jeff Daniels puts BBQ sauce and sour cream chips on his peanut butter pita sandwiches.

Steve snacked on dry cornbread between shows, and he noticed the ceramic butter dish is cracked. The humanity! Dag’s shows in Athens were a great success. In front of a packed house, they were joined onstage by Bill Berry, Scott McCoy, and Peter Buck. Steve and Janet went to the beach, and Steve had what he thought was an exceptional beach burger, but aren’t they all. Everything tastes better at the beach.

Happy Pulaski Day! Janet’s family is visiting today, with a vintage Naples trolley ride planned. Dag is in Richmond at the Quirk Hotel. Washington D.C. legend Doug Williams is one of Tom Thayer’s all-time favorite teammates and friends. Tom’s mom made very good pierogi’s. Tom also remembers the stuffed cabbage she cooked for him. Connor Storrie was awesome on Saturday Night Live, and Mumford and Sons brought out Hozier.

Florida Steve finds a publication that both really speaks his language, and lowers his IQ, all at the same time. Every great Florida road trip should include a stop at Shangri-La Springs and a bite of a key lime pancake (or maybe some lamb). Steve and Brendan agree; Aldi self-checkout is error-proof. The pronunciation of “sherbet” eludes Steve. He apparently doesn’t know how to spell it, either.